some new photos of insects

[mike_c]

Now that I'm retired I'm finding more time to get caught up on some personal projects, including the insect photos. I've been working on them, but I figured I'd post fewer so as not to burn us out! Here are some of the newest ones. Clicking on the photo will take you to the high resolution version on Smugmug.

This is a female giant Malaysian leaf insect:




Here is the giant metallic Ceiba borer from Central America and South America, Euchroma gigantea:




This is a male shining leaf chafer from Equador, Chrysophora chrysochlora:




Metaxymorpha apicalis is the glowing jewel beetle, Indonesia:




This is Megaloxantha bicolor assamensis, the bicolor jewel beetle of Thailand:




The insignis longhorn beetle, Sphingnotus insignis, is from Papua, New Guinea:




And last, a giant bamboo weavil, Cyrtotrachelus dux:




On second thought, here's a purple one, a violet morph Chrysochroa fulminans jewel beetle from Malaysia:



I hope you like them, and do check out the high res versions if you like detail!

[vlyons]

1. very nice

thank you for sharing

[mike_c]

6. thank you!

[FreepFryer]

2. these are gorgeous - only needs a sense of scale

gorgeous iridescence and chitin textures!

i assume each insect is sized for the frame, so u cant compare different insects in scale.

[mike_c]

7. thank you

Yes, they are different sizes, all scaled separately to fit the photo. I've thought about adding scale bars but I worry they might just confuse most people and besides, scales would have to be metric for even more confusion. Still, I go back and forth about scale bars.

[rampartc]

3. great photos, mike

have you done any of our more common insects? butterflies perhaps?

[mike_c]

8. I have some common North American taxa already posted on Smugmug...

...and a bunch of specimens, including butterflies, still in the queue. Butterflies are particularly challenging to prep-- they tend to collect dirt and random scales. Plus there are just so many beautiful beetles around the world!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. Wow, Mike, these are just fantastic!

The details, the incredible colors, really everything is perfect.

That first insect really does look like a leaf! Amazing.

Do post more! It's great to see your work.

[mike_c]

9. thank you!

Last edited Sat Jan 21, 2023, 03:13 PM - Edit history (1)

I'm so glad you enjoy them. Among the earliest documented European accounts of those giant leaf insects was one from Magellan's navigator who collected some live specimens. He thought they were real, mobile leaves and surmised that they "eat air" to sustain themselves. Of course, they all died.

[MLAA]

5. Beautiful and educational. Where do you get your models?

[mike_c]

10. thank you

The insects come from various places. Some are North American specimens that I collected during my university career. Others were culled from an entomology teaching collection I maintained for 25+ years at Cal Poly Humboldt in Northern California. Finally, some of the specimens are purchased from dealers who obtain them by a variety of means.

The specimens culled from the teaching collection are old, dirty, and beat up from years of handling. Many lack proper documentation. They are especially brittle and tough to reposition, and many are faded to the point of being unrecognizable, but I have a lot of them. They are the ones that began this project. The purchased specimens were much more recently collected and they're usually cleaner and in better condition.

[MLAA]

11. They are beautiful and your documenting them is a real service!

[Grumpy Old Guy]

12. Outstanding work!

Congratulations, and thanks for sharing!

[mike_c]

13. thank you